Russia will not heed US calls to free protesters: Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian authorities would not pay attention to US calls to release anti-government demonstrators who were detained on Monday during protests organised by opposition leader Alexei Navalny. "We disagree when the question is put this way. This is not the sort of calls we should be listening to," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The United States condemned Russia's crackdown on anti-corruption protesters on Monday, calling on Moscow to release "peaceful" demonstrators detained by the police. Peskov said the authorities had not acted against protesters who had agreed their actions in advance.